Neiska

How about we let people play how they like without lecturing them how they like to play is the incorrect way? Can we try that? You want to stay? Great! Have fun! You want to go? Great! Have fun! Team members disagree? Find new team members who like to play the same way as you do. For the record, and feel free to quote me here, but the only thing that I “have” to do is put in my password when I log in. After that everything else is 100% my decision. If I want to stay or go, team or solo, farm or yolo, I’ll do whatever I damn well please. Long as I’m not breaking any rules (and I’m not) if you don’t like it than you and anyone else who doesn’t like it can kiss me where the good lord split me. (Not meaning anyone specifically by “you”, speaking rhetorically here for context.) tldr - you do your thing, I do mine. If that involves us not teaming together I’m perfectly fine with that. I would sooner play entirely by myself than be held to the standards of entirely random strangers in a video game.

Personally I care more about the ease and consistency than how much I get per hour. If I’m chill farming, I can do it for several hours. Sometimes I don’t even pay attention to how many levels or how much inf I get. I pause to sell things when I’m full and go back to it. I find it quite relaxing with the right setup.

Normally I would agree, but in both examples they were Bio armor, damage recovery is kind of its speciality. So bad example on my part I guess? Didn’t really pick those out of the hat, they just happened to be my respective best brute and tankers to compare. But do agree that time spent on the defense/recovering also matters. As I said before, more a situation for the big brains to calculate. All I know is that despite the math, my best brute beats some of my tankers. But that is still kind of apples to oranges, and if you include recovery, and how fast things die and so on, that’s not just apples to oranges, but apples to oranges to pineapples too!

Did just have a random thought. Is it possible that we (rhetorical here, no one specifically speaking) are putting too much value on the “increased aoe” targets here? I mean, let’s say both a tanker and a brute engage 2 spawns of 8 enemies each, or 16 targets in total. Tanker can damage all of them. Brute can damage all but 4. Tanker wins right? But the thing is, is the enemies don’t all die at the same time, or even the same rate. You have normals, lieutenants, bosses, elite bosses, etc. But for both, tanker and brute alike, the whites/normals will die quickly, in a few attacks a matter of fact. Which means the tankers AOE capabilities only matters for those first few attacks, after that they have the same amount of enemies engaged, and if the brute has better aoe damage (bigger numbers, not more targets) couldn’t they pull ahead? More of a rhetorical question, one more for the big brains than mine. I was just musing on how my brute can beat most of my tankers, even though math and conventional wisdom would say otherwise.

I wasn’t going to say anything, because I know the numbers don’t support it, but my savage/bio brute actually solos more content better than most of my tankers. Only my Fire/Bio tanker can melt things as fast. But the rest? The brute is almost always faster. And it’s not a case of inf invested, or incarnates, as they are all in the same ballpark. I really can’t explain the hows or whys. Just out of all my brutes and tankers, those two do the best and they are very close. I know math would say otherwise and I can’t really explain it. It’s just how it is?

Fair. It just strikes me as odd for someone to be so concerned over something that doesn’t affect them. I mean, let’s play hypothetical here. Let’s say you want to see it, but they say no. It’s not like you can force them to show you. And for the reverse, if you have it displayed and someone has an issue, I’d say that’s their problem. It’s not as if you can change it even if you wanted to, except to delete and remake. And a character’s birthdate doesn’t really mean anything other than when it was made. It has zero effect on a players skill or game knowledge. So….. what’s the point?

Isn’t this kind of bottom-of-the-barrel of things to complain about? I care more about the lives of Tardigrades floating adrift in space on debris left over by past space shuttle missions than someone else’s fictional characters “first appearance” date. Seriously, this is impressively in the “who cares” category. Made 5 years ago? Don’t care. Made 5 minutes ago? Still don’t care. And I find other people caring this much about other peoples first appearances mildly amusing.

I don’t see why not? Macros have pretty much always been a part of the game as far as I’m aware. There is even more things you can do with macros, some of which are much more egregious. As far as I’m aware there’s no rule against using them either.

My favorite and best brute is savage/bio. Overall, tanks do more aoe and are more survivable with most power combinations. Not all, but most. Another thing is that tankers get more from +damage than brutes do, such as super strength. I think where brutes shine, is fast paced teams where they can keep their fury up, and some mechanics like bleed or dot damage is affected by brute fury bonus. None of this is to say brutes are “bad.” If you like being an angryboi, then I say to heck with the math and have fun. I think most differences would be minor in comparison, and there are circumstances where a brute can shine. Spines/fire certainly, or even a fire/fire brute can be great. I’ve even done a dual wield and battle axe brute and they both were great. So I say if you are enjoying it, then stick with it. Comparison is the thief of joy and all that!

I care more about the person playing the build than the build itself. And I would happily team with an entire team full of petless MMs before the kind of person who thinks they can tell other people what they can or can’t play.

I take both as well but I tend to focus on DEF/RES on my crabbers, and those are great spots to put things like impervium armor: psionic resistance to plug any psi holes you have, or 3 piece unbreakable guard for energy/negative resistance, plus other uniques. I take RoP as well for the same reason, that and its nice to have a panic button.

I’ve had the best luck with Dino chicken nuggies and alcohol. Lots of alcohol.

Oh for sure, where and what you are farming matters just as much as the AT. I was speaking in generalities.

@shmurtypants thoughts come to mind. The first, is you “can” farm with MMs, but unless you are multi boxing, it’s far from efficient or stress free. Playing 2-3 MMs at once can be fairly fast, but it takes skill and practice. But what I do now is play whatever you want, but have 2 tanks/brutes on follow. I am currently farming on my crabber SoA, and I have one Savage/Bio brute and a spines/bio tanker on follow auto casting their AoEs. So I can pretty much farm whatever I like with that setup. You don’t really even need two, one would be doable, it’s just faster with 2. No muss, no fuss, smooth and easy farming even on 4/8.

I don’t claim to speak for anyone but myself, but I can offer alternative possibilities. The reasons why need not be malicious in nature. Some people including myself enjoy “red lining” the engine so to speak. Pushing a build or even a concept build as far as you can. It might also depend on the enemy or mission in question. Some enemies like carnies can be pita. Missions like “kill all” might certainly be faster if people split up. The same goes for “finding the McMuffin” objectives. I doubt splitting up on missions is for any kind of ego, as it’s not really a feat that’s impressive. Soloing an itf is impressive. Soloing GMs and AVs are impressive. Getting a ton of vet levels is impressive. And this isn’t considering the inexplicable. Someone may have taken a wrong turn, or just isn’t paying attention. They might have been enjoying a few adult beverages and have impaired judgment. They might just be on “autopilot” mode. Point is, is there are many other possible reasons why someone heads off alone before trying to show off or act with ill intentions. If bad intentions were their goal, I can think of many far worse things than running off by themselves that they could be doing. Overpulling mobs for example, or trying to deliberately wipe the group or sabotage the mission’s come to mind. As long as it doesn’t cause problems, I don’t mind if people run off. Others might agree. The only thing that really bugs me is when stealth people sprint to the glowie, skipping “everything.” But it’s okay to like different things. But others liking different things than you doesn’t make them bad, wrong, or malicious. If these things are so terrible, I would respectfully ask what makes them so terrible? What was the impact on the mission? Did it cause it to fail somehow? Asking in earnest here, because tone of voice is difficult to convey only through text.

I agree. Booting is allowed and is one of the ways to play “with someone else.” I can count on my fingers the number of times I’ve booted people. Most of the time it didn’t have anything to do with how they played, but what they said. They might have been rude and bossy, or something they said was a hot or sensitive issue that I don’t care to see in my personal leisure time. The thing about booting is, there’s no rules for it. If you want to split hairs, you don’t even need a reason. If you want to control how other people play, be the leader. But with that if someone doesn’t like how the leader leads, then people can leave or form their own teams. Someone who is too overbearing or controlling might find people leaving suddenly, perhaps even at the most inconvenient time. Especially if they are going for a badge or hard mode or something. The “play nice with others” goes both ways. I’ve left toxic leaders before, and took no small amount of satisfaction in doing so. People aren’t obligated to do things “your way” even if you are the leader.

By all means, let us pay heed to that giant pile of gabby-gook word salad from someone who by their own admission doesn’t play their level 50’s on what the correct way to play a level 50 is. Please, rain down upon us your hidden secret knowledge, shower us with your continence based upon your lofty self appointed superiority. We all hold such platitudes in the highest regard, kiss elbow promise! Yea but no. This is a “sandbox” game. People can all play and enjoy the game differently. There is no “right”, “correct,” or “wrong” way to play. If you style clashes with others, then just don’t play with them. It’s fairly simple. But what nobody gets to do is lecture other people on how to play or have fun. And unless you name has “HC staff” next to it, than your opinion is just that - an opinion. Not a fact. Certainly not a law or rule. And you most certainly don’t get to pretend that you are the sole arbitrary authority on what is or is not correct. Dont like someone? Don’t play with them. Go do your own thing with other people. No need to crow about it, no need to stand on your soapbox and address the ignorant masses on why your sole objective and style is the only correct one. Just put them on ignore, give them a 1 star to remind yourself, and press on with life.

I would like to go on record in saying that even though I have a few posts about multi boxing MMs, this is not me! 😆 In seriousness though, I can guarantee that unless they are using software to multibox, it’s more difficult for them to control and maneuver their pets than a group of random people tagging it. Long as you get a hit in, you should get credit. And if it’s on +4 it will take them time to chew down any EB. Another option is just to teleport it back? But correct me if I’m wrong here, but I thought EB’s couldn’t be teleported? Or am I thinking something else?

I meant be flexible as the fold space user, not everyone else. 😆

I don’t mind as long as it doesn’t mess up the mission or if the lone wolf bites off more than they can chew and blames others. I hasten to add not all of them do this, but some do. Long as you aren’t expecting people to follow you then I am fine with it. I have bigger issues with stalkers who just sneak to the glowy, click and dip out as soon as possible without helping kill things. I mean if you are just going to sprint to the clicky what’s the point? That’s missed exp, inf, salvage and recipes. Why bother teaming if that’s what you are going to be doing?

To add another suggestion is an SoA. You support the team just by being there. No effort to buff needed. The SoA maneuvers toggle alone is 16% all defense. Then there’s tactics and assault to. The new Leviathan pool is awesome on Crabbers. Your venom grenade and acid spew both have -resists that stack, especially for -toxic resist. Then you follow up with Bile Spray for an AoE toxic dot. Then you have spirit shark and your other crabby attacks. And nearly all of your attacks have built in debuffs. Either-res or - defense. Most people build crabbers for recharge for permapets, which is possible but takes a lot to get there, and takes a ton of slots doing it. But I actually prefer to build my crabbers differently. I build mine for flying and durability. Some don’t realize that you can get up to 85% resistance on a crabber, and it’s pretty easy to get the defense soft cap. You can be pretty dang tough as a crabber, there were times I was tougher than the tanker on the team. So my crabber is a flying artillery piece that both buffs and debuffs with great AoE, but kind of meh single target. Fully capable of soloing +4/8 difficulty, but you don’t have the tools to solo GMs or AVs. You won’t be few big numbers, but you will see a stream of constant AoE damages. Another downside is you have to plan your endurance use carefully as running so many toggles at a time is very hungry on your blue bar. And a crabber performs well on almost any kind of team. So if you like being a tough flyer with great aoe, buffs and built in debuffs give a crabber a look. PS - just got home and decided to show a screenie of the mids. No holes, End holds up well, fantastic defenses for a flyer, and protects them with both elusive maneuvers and -def debuff protection from Ageless. Lowest resists are 68%. Even has good PSI resistance! This is just her with toggles on, no barrier, no RoP (though she has that too). Note - don't be fooled by the melee/ranged/aoe DEF, that's just Elusive Maneuvers when its on. The actual combat values are 45/45/38. I've given thought to trying a build focusing on Toxic damage via venom grenade, artic breath, bile spray, even poison stuff from experimental pool. But haven't figured a build for that yet, but hoping toxic dart might help with the ST dps with all the -toxic resist it would bring into play. But that's a project on the back burner. This is my main Crabby setup and it works fantastic for me.

Don’t recall Fold Space ever being mentioned good or bad in a league. On teams though, it depends. If there is a tank or brute on the team, or even some scrappers, I tend to view them as the anchor. They are the ones who decide where we engage. 90% of the time it’s where the enemies spawned, but not always. I usually wait until they have a nice big pile before doing anything, and I usually use fold space to pull enemies who are staying ranged into the pile, or pull runners into the taunt aura. On teams without a tanker or brute, it’s kind of the Wild West. It takes a few pulls to see what the dynamic will be. Sometimes in such cases it’s me on my MM or SoA that plants the flag, but just as often it’s a controller or dominator locking things down who decides. So to me when it comes to tools like fold space, the key is to be flexible. Some circumstances call for it, others don’t. It depends on the team and difficulty. On some teams things die so fast that fold space isn’t even really necessary.

Complimentary pairings are good, but others can be just as good too. Robots/EA can be fantastic, even though one is defense and the other is resist. Robots/Dark is another great pairing. Demons/dark, demons and thugs pair with just about everything. /Time goes well with any pet set too. I think it might be more important to sit and plan out a build, so you can get an idea of what your final values will be. And some things like debuff numbers aren’t always obvious either. Anyway, tldr is you can make any pairing “work.” The biggest differences will be in play style, and how high of a difficulty you can solo. But don’t forget, sometimes the builds that don’t solo well, can prove to be some of the best support on a team too, especially on hard modes where debuffing is often what sets the tone of the team.

Some thoughts. First, we all start somewhere. Sure, it's an old game, but not everyone played live either. People to this day are still discovering the game. Which to me, is a good thing. Secondly, while there is an abundance of resources to pull from, I doubt there are many players who have done everything, played every class, every power, etc. Everyone is still learning something. Or some people may just be experimenting with something new. Thirdly, you never know the other persons situation. I am a deaf player myself with a cochlear implant, but I don't wear it all the time. If I'm not wearing it, sometimes it does cause issues, like if looking for a glowie, I won't hear it. But the other person might be having a bad day. Might be on pain meds. Might have had a few adult beverages, so on. For whatever reason they may not be at the top of their performance. Lastly, this is a free to play game. There are no trophies. No medals. Not even bragging rights. There is precious very little "new" achievements to be made. Everything you have done, someone else has already done. The game isn't a race to win. Its something we all play to enjoy. Now doing the best you can is all well and good, but not everyone minmaxes to the umpteenth degree, or subscribes to the meta. Some people like to do their own thing, even if it's subpar or not the kiss-your-elbow mathematically best for whatever situation. Personally, my goal isn't to "win", it's to have fun. That might be farming. That might be hanging out with friends. That might be hunting Giant Monsters or beating up archvillians. It might be doing Ouro stuff. It might be volunteering to do missions that I don't need because I have seen people trying to fill the team for a bit. It might be trying a new build, or even just goofing off in the pocket D. I have played many games where there is competition, and the attitude of "git gud" prevails. CoH is many things, but to me it is not one of them. It might be just me, but I just can't get worked up over pixels in a game old enough to vote. Sure, I may get frustrated with other players or hit a wall, but for me the fun is what matters most. Others may disagree, and thats okay. Its okay to try and min/max. This is just my opinions and thoughts about it. TLDR: Is it okay to suck at a game? A: Does it matter? Is CoH "serious business?"

It depends. If I'm the leader or tank, I usually keep one eye on the map and general party location. If I'm a support, I stick close to the tank or squishys. If there's a "gotta go fast" person on the team whose skipping everything running straight to the glowie map after map, I don't bother. And if its egregious, I'll quietly put them on my "don't team with" list.